Couple of Questions ref Fat Adaption

newbies
(Andrew) #1

This is my first post - I have been following Keto for 3 weeks now and have read quite a few different comments on different forums etc and this has raised a few issues that are not clear to me.

  1. The ultimate aim is fat adaption - Will this be achieved quicker the less carbs you eat or as long as your eating little enough to be in ketosis that is all that matters?

  2. If I am planning my meals and stay below 20g and target to achieve as close a possible to my protein level, is the fat macro “that” important and for any other reason than to ensure one feel full - will more fat get you into fat adaption quicker?

  3. I have read about insulin spikes between meals and snacking - is this something I need to be conscious about eating between meals - will this slow the journey into fat adaption ?

Many thanks in advance

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

Welcome to the forums! Here are my thoughts:

  1. I don’t know of any way to hasten the process of fat adaptation. For one thing, it depends on how metabolically healthy or unhealthy a person is—the level of systemic inflammation, how damaged your mitochondria are, the degree of insulin resistance, the length of time on a high-carbohydrate diet before reducing intake are all factors.

  2. The key to a well-formulated ketogenic diet is to lower chronically elevated serum insulin by reducing glucose intake; i.e., carbohydrates (carbohydrates are basically glucose molecules arranged in various ways, except for sugars, which often contain a fructose molecule). Macros are irrelevant. You want to keep your carb intake low enough to allow your insulin to drop (especially if you wish to shed excess stored fat, since insulin is the primary hormone that causes the body to store fat). Then you want to get enough protein to maintain your muscle mass and to keep your bones nice and strong (bones are calcium in a protein matrix). Then you want to add enough fat to your diet to satisfy your hunger. How low you need to keep your carb intake will depend on your degree of insulin resistance. We recommend starting at 20 g/day. If you are highly insulin-resistant, you may need to eat even less, in order to get into ketosis. Once you are fat-adapted, you can try increasing your carb intake (if you even want to, by then). Everyone’s carb tolerance is different, so it is hard to advise individuals. But staying under 20 g/day is a good place to start, for almost everyone.

  3. Yes, elevated insulin will delay or inhibit fat adaptation. The goal of a well-formulated ketogenic diet is to keep insulin as low as possible for as much of the day as possible. Your insulin level will naturally rise during and after meals, and will then slowly fall between meals. This will cause some of the energy in your food to be stored temporarily in your fat cells, and will then allow that energy to be released during the period between meals, especially during the overnight fast. A spike in insulin is the result of too much carbohydrate or eating too frequently. This is why we advise eating a low-carb diet, with moderate protein and enough fat to satisfy your hunger. Fat has a minimal effect on insulin secretion, so you can use it as a source of calories to replace the calories lost from not eating carbohydrate anymore.

(Andrew) #3

Thank you a further clarification if possible.

I understand that each person is different and has multiple variables that will effect everyone differently regarding the time period for the change to fat adaption … the question is despite these variables would a lower carb intake speed up that individuals transition or is it simply a matter of getting into Ketosis and the period will be what it will be ?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

The period of adaptation cannot be hastened, so far as I understand it. Eating low-carb permits the process to occur, but does not influence its speed. In most people, the period is 6-8 weeks, but some people adapt much more quickly, others much more slowly than that. The time is required for damaged mitochondria to heal, for new mitochondria to be made, and for certain metabolic pathways, deactivated from lack of need, to be reactivtated.

During the adaptation period, you will notice a decline in your muscular endurance. When your endurance returns to its pre-keto level (or perhaps exceeds it), you will know that your muscles have adapted. Explosive performance takes longer to return, but eventually does so.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #5

Eat sub-20 grams of carbs per day. The more consistently you stay in ketosis the better; that’s about the most any of us can predict. Excursions on carbs will interfere. As per @PaulL no one can predict how soon or efficiently you will become fat adapted. It’s a process that includes fixing all the stuff that broke from eating SAD for years or decades. Simply being in ketosis is sort of fat adapted already since you’re now running primarily on ketones and fatty acids. Over time as your cells and organs repair and renew you will get better and more efficiently fat adapted. Many folks report that they experienced a point of transition where they suddenly felt ‘renewed and refreshed’. But many don’t and just slowly realize over time that they feel more energy than before, can do things they couldn’t before and/or just feel better overall than ever before. So it’s important not to compare yourself or your experiences to others in a self-critical manner. We all get what we need and if you let it happen and give yourself enough fuel it will. Welcome!

(Bob M) #6

As for eating multiple meals and snacks, when I started in 2014, I ate 4-5+ meals a day, thinking that was “healthy”. This is before I found Dr. Fung and started limiting meals and even not eating for a day or multiple days. I still lost 30+ pounds while eating 4-5 meals a day.